


The Rise of Stormpilot

by BowieGirl



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Badass Rey, Finn Needs A Hug (Star Wars), First Kiss, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Finn (Star Wars), Hurt Poe Dameron, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings, Poe Dameron Hurts So Prettily, Poe Dameron Needs A Hug, Spoilers, Stormpilot, The way it should have ended, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:54:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22053598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BowieGirl/pseuds/BowieGirl
Summary: “Shouldn’t you go after him?” Poe asks.Rey pins him with a look that leaves him feeling exposed and vulnerable.“Is that really what you want?” She asks.Poe opens his mouth. Closes it. Shrugs helplessly.Rey sighs again and shakes her head. “Go talk to him.”___Poe and Finn are loveable morons who overthink everything, and Rey is the only one with common sense.Or, alternatively: the way the Rise of Skywalker should have ended.SPOILERS FOR THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 32
Kudos: 579





	The Rise of Stormpilot

**Author's Note:**

> A fix-it fic because our boys deserved better. 
> 
> SPOILERS FOR THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.
> 
> I CANNOT SAY THAT ENOUGH. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY SEEN THE MOVIE.
> 
> THANKS.

Poe has better things to be worrying about. Like finding a way out of the sinkhole they’re currently trapped in. Like getting to the ship and locating the wayfinder. Like winning the war and saving the entire galaxy.

He shouldn’t care about whatever it is that Finn wants to tell Rey. He shouldn’t care that there’s something important Finn clearly doesn’t want to share with _him_. He shouldn’t care.

And yet…

“I’ll tell you later.”

Rey raises an eyebrow and Finn’s eyes flit to Poe and back again within the space of a single heartbeat.

“You mean when Poe’s not here?”

He shoulders between them and tries to ignore the splinter of something dark and ugly needling between his ribs. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t –

“Yeah,” Finn is examining the walls now, touching the rocks and sand as though he might be able to sink through and escape. “Mm-hmm.”

“We’re going to die in sand boroughs and we’re all keeping secrets?”

Poe wishes he could take a blaster to his own big, flapping gums. Why couldn’t he leave well enough alone? Now Finn is looking at him with narrowed eyes and stiff shoulders and a fierce glint of something defensive glimmering behind his gaze.

“I’ll tell you when you tell me about all that shifty stuff _you_ do.”

Poe bites his lip and turns down the nearest tunnel. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t.

Finn and Rey follow behind him and their footsteps and loud and even and they match the beat of Poe’s aching heart.

***

Poe has better things to worry about. Like the fact that his hands are tied so tightly that he’s losing feeling in his fingers, and that their mission has been horribly, irrevocably compromised. Like the blaster pointing at the back of his head. Like the awful realization that he’s let down the General and the entire Resistance, and that the damned First Order is going to destroy them all.

He shouldn’t care that he’s going to die without ever knowing what Finn wanted to say to Rey that one time. He shouldn’t care that there’s something inside of Finn, some secret, some small piece of himself that he isn’t willing to share with Poe. He shouldn’t care.

And yet…

“What were you going to tell Rey before?” The words are out before he can stop them and he would smack himself if not for the rope currently binding his wrists together.

“Still on that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is this a bad time?”

Finn looks around them with a wide, sweeping gaze, and then his eyes snap back to Poe again.

“It sort of is,” he barks, and his voice is loud and lit with a slight edge of hysteria.

Poe blinks and then leans forward.

“We’re about to die and we’re _still_ keeping secrets?”

“Poe, it’s not about you – ”

“Oh, so it’s only meant for _Rey_. I see. I get it.”

“Are we seriously doing this right now? I can’t believe – ”

“Look, all I’m saying is – ”

The sound of the blaster is deafening and Poe waits to feel that familiar burn, the sharp, white, hot, angry jet of light tearing the back of his skull apart. But it never comes. They’re free now and he can hardly believe that whiny, toe-headed boot-licker is the spy and then they’re moving and he’s not thinking about it anymore except for a tiny voice at the back of his head that reminds him, over and over again, that’s he’s Finn’s second choice.

It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t care anyway.

***

“Well, I’m not Leia!”

“That’s for damn sure!”

Poe watches him walk away and fights every instinct to chase after him. He’s not willing to die for Rey’s reckless whims, and neither should Finn.

It’s unfair, he knows, to take his jealousy out on the younger man. It’s not Finn’s fault Poe hates how his eyes light up around her. It’s not his fault he feels exposed and raw every time Finn looks at him with those glittering eyes of his. It’s not his fault Poe doesn’t know how to handle his feelings like the grown-ass man he is and insists on acting like a child whenever it concerns Rey.

He loves her too. He really does. And even though she’s rash and impulsive and infuriatingly stubborn, Poe doesn’t want to lose her friendship. But every single time she puts them in danger – puts _Finn_ in danger – he loses his goddamn mind. He can’t help himself. It’s like second nature to him; protect Finn no matter the cost.

But he’s also painfully aware that if he doesn’t get himself under control – and soon – he’ll not only lose Rey, but he’ll lose Finn too.

And that’s a loss he knows he will never come back from.

***

Finn is still on the goddamn ship. The one they’ve just blown up. The one that is going down faster than Poe knows he will ever be able to get there. The tight fist around his heart contracts and he thinks he’s going to die from the explosion of panic and pain.

“You’ll never make it!”

“I’m faster than you think,” he shouts.

In his head, he knows. He knows that it’s impossible, knows that no matter what he does, or how fast he moves, he’ll never make it in time. But it doesn’t matter. Because if Finn is going down, Poe will do everything in his power to make damn sure that he doesn’t go alone. He prepares to nosedive to his fate, his every thought focused on Finn, beautiful, courageous, fearless Finn, currently clinging desperately to the side of the tilting ship below.

“Not as fast as I am!”

The voice is like a breath of fresh air sent straight out of the heavens. Poe watches the rescue with his stomach in knots, ready at any moment to dive in should something go wrong. But Finn jumps to safety and along with him, Poe’s heart. It settles back into his chest where it belongs and Poe redirects his thoughts to the ongoing battle. Finn is safe.

And Poe will enjoy killing him later for scaring him like that. 

***

Their hug is tight and hot and sweaty and Poe’s hand cups the back of Finn’s head and pulls him close and he’s trembling and he can’t feel anything apart from the warmth radiating from the younger man’s skin. He’s crying. They both are, he thinks. The war is over and he can’t believe it. Finn is in his arms and he _can’t believe it_.

Rey is there a moment later and they’re running and gripping and sobbing and holding each other and for a brief, wonderful, tender moment, Poe doesn’t remember resenting the connection between his two beautiful, heroic friends. He doesn’t think about his bitterness. He melts into their bodies and settles there, content to remain pressed between them for the rest of his life. He doesn’t want it to end.

It does end, of course, as all things do. The war ended, and so does the unbreakable bond that held the Resistance together. Soldiers go home. Couples get married. Pilots fly off in every direction, and the base dwindles down into a few lonely people who have nowhere else to go. Rey stays, but her eyes start to drift to the sky more and more frequently and her fingers twitch at her side like she doesn’t know what to do with them now. Maybe she doesn’t. Finn notices. Poe notices that he notices. His heart drops into his stomach and sits there like a rock.

It comes back then. The thing he doesn’t care about. The thing Finn won’t share with him. He has a feeling he knows already what it is, and the thought brings him more misery than he ever thought possible in a world where the First Order no longer exists.

“Did you ever tell her?” He asks one night. Rey is floating above them, her eyes closed, a whirlwind of stones and flowers and leaves swirling around her.

Finn lowers his lashes. He doesn’t ask what Poe means. “Not yet.”

Poe nods. “You should. Soon. She’s going to leave.”

“I know.”

Poe wants to ask if he’s going with her, but he already knows. It hurts, but he’s had worse. He’s had Kylo Ren rooting around inside his head, tearing him apart from the inside out. This is nothing compared to that, he thinks. Nothing.

The more he repeats it, the less true it seems.

“What are we going to do now?” Finn looks at him and his eyes are wide and dark and beseeching. “Where do we go from here?”

Poe shrugs, pick up a pinecone, and tosses it into Rey’s orbit. It spins around and around her like a top.

“We just – move on, I guess. Find another cause. Or don’t. Whatever you want to do, buddy.”

Finn sags against his side and dips his head until it’s resting on Poe’s shoulder.

“I’m scared.”

The admission is whispered into his jacket but Poe can feel it all the way down to his toes. He wraps an arm around the younger man’s shoulders and pulls him as close as he dares.

“Me too, pal. Me too.”

***

Finn asks to speak with Rey alone that evening after dinner. Poe excuses himself and takes a walk. He tries not to think about tomorrow when they’ll take off together across the stars. They’ll probably offer for him to come along, but he knows he couldn’t possibly bear that. Seeing them together every day, watching them laugh and touch and kiss – it would destroy him. They’d spend less and less time together until even the sight of them would make his head and heartache. He’d grow to resent Rey, to mourn what could have been with Finn. He’d lose them both because of his own lack of self-control, and he’d rather have them leave now, freely, than ever allow himself to chase them away.

They’re quiet when he returns, but it’s the type of quiet that makes itself painfully obvious like it hadn’t been there just moments before. Rey is packing her bag and Finn is sitting beside her at the table, watching with stormy eyes.

“Everything okay?” Poe asks. Neither one turns to look at him but he sees Finn’s shoulder tense just the slightest before he shrugs.

Rey sighs. “Talk to him, please.”

Poe isn’t sure who she’s speaking to, but before he can ask, Finn is standing and walking out the door. It slams behind him and Poe feels his heart give a painful jolt. He watches Rey but she continues packing as though nothing has happened.

“Shouldn’t you go after him?” He asks.

Rey pins him with a look that leaves him feeling exposed and vulnerable.

“Is that really what you want?” She asks.

Poe opens his mouth. Closes it. Shrugs helplessly.

Rey sighs again and shakes her head. “Go talk to him.”

***

Finn is sitting in a tree, his eyes closed and hands clenched into fists against his thighs. There’s a muscle in his jaw that’s fluttering away beneath his skin. Poe climbs up beside him and settles with his back resting against the tree’s thick trunk.

“What’s going on, buddy?”

Finn opens his eyes but doesn’t turn to look at him. He draws his shoulders in like he’s afraid of being hit. Poe wants to touch him but is strangely afraid that he’ll shatter beneath his fingertips.

“Rey won’t let me go with her.”

Poe takes a moment to process the words. The relief he feels is tinged darkly by the sad, angry lilt in his friend’s voice, and he suddenly feels embarrassed and ashamed of himself. How could he possibly allow himself to feel happy when someone he claims to care about is so clearly in pain? He schools his expression and scoots closer across the tree branch.

“Did she say why?” He keeps his voice soft.

“She says she needs to be alone for a while. Figure things out for herself. Who she is without Luke, or whatever.”

“That’s doesn’t seem so unreasonable,” Poe’s tone is careful. “It’s not forever. She’ll be back.”

Finn kicks his feet and watches them swing slowly back and forth.

“I have nowhere to go now.”

Poe’s chest tightens and he’s dangerously close to doing something embarrassing like bursting into tears or dragging Finn forward and into his open arms. How could he believe, even for a single moment, that Poe would allow him to be alone in this world? Didn’t he realize how much the older man adored him? How desperately he wanted to protect him?

“You always have a place with me,” Poe whispers, running a hesitant hand down the ex-stormtrooper’s back. “You and me, we can go wherever you want. Or we can stay here. Learn the land. Become mercenaries, or farmers or – hell, we can be spice runners for all I care. Whatever you want, buddy.”

Finn lifts his head slowly and turns to look at Poe. He pulls away from the older man’s touch and shakes his head.

“I can’t stay with you.”

Poe tries not to be hurt but it’s difficult when he feels as though his heart has been torn from his chest. It must show on his face because Finn’s eyes widen and he begins to babble.

“I don’t mean it that way. I would never – that is to say, I will always want to be with you. But – you won’t. You – you’ll want me to leave too, once you know.”

Poe’s eyebrows peak. “Listen, buddy, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I will never, _ever_ want you to leave. You’re my best friend. I kinda thought you already knew that by now.”

Finn looks miserable. “You don’t understand.”

Poe sighs and cups the back of his friend’s head, squeezing softly.

“Then tell me.”

Finn flinches as though Poe has struck him. He pulls away again and Poe’s hand drifts slowly back into his lap. He watches the younger man closely, sees the emotions flitting across his face like butterfly wings. Finn breathes quietly for several long moments and when he does finally open his mouth, his words come out on a sob.

“I’m Force-Sensitive.”

Poe blinks. “Run that by me again?”

Finn practically whimpers and his body is shaking. “I’m – I can feel the Force, Poe. I – it’s in me, somewhere, like, calling to me. I – Rey thinks I could be a Jedi someday. If I wanted.”

“Okay,” Poe nods slowly. “That’s – a good thing though, right?”

Finn looks up. He sniffs and shrugs. “I mean. I guess. It’s not – bad, anyway.”

Poe feels completely lost. He’d been prepared to hear a number of different explanations for Finn’s behavior – that he knew about Poe’s feelings and was disgusted by him. That he loved Rey and was prepared to chase her across the entire galaxy to win her heart. But this? Finn was right – he really _doesn’t_ understand.

“You’re gonna have to help me out here, pal,” he says. “Why are you acting like someone’s dying?”

To say Finn looks surprised would be a massive understatement. He stares at Poe with his jaw hanging so low that’s it’s practically knocking against his chest, and his eyes are wide and round like boulders.

“You don’t mind?”

Poe is perplexed. “Why would I mind? Stars, Finn, you’re incredible – _of course_ you’d be Force-Sensitive! Everything about you – and I do mean _everything_ – is absolutely amazing. No offense, but this is probably the least-surprising news I’ve ever received.”

“But,” Finn pauses and swallows hard. “What Ren did to you…”

Poe shrugs. “Is what Ren did to me. It’s in the past. And besides, it has absolutely nothing to do with you, buddy.”

Finn still looks like he doesn’t believe him. He’s chewing on his lip and his eyes keep darting from Poe to the ground and back again. Poe sighs and takes Finn’s hand, dragging him close until his face is mere inches from Poe’s.

“I need you to listen to this, and I want you to promise me that you will never forget it. Okay?”

Finn bites his lip and nods. “Okay.”

“You are not Kylo Ren. There is not a single dark bone in your body. You are without a doubt the strongest, bravest, kindest man I have ever known in my entire life. You are a hero – you are _my_ hero. And there is not a single thing in this galaxy that could ever make me think less of you. I – I love you, Finn. With everything that I am.”

There are tears in the younger man’s eyes and they’re spilling over and trickling down his face like raindrops. He smiles and then he sobs and presses his face into Poe’s shoulder.

“I love you too.”

Poe’s heart is in his throat and he runs his palms slowly up and down, up and down Finn’s quivering back. He can’t believe this is real. Only a few short hours ago he was prepared to lose everything. And now here he is, holding his everything tightly against his chest. This can’t be real.

“I thought you and Rey…”

Finn shakes his head and grips the front of Poe’s shirt with such ferocity that Poe is almost certain he’s torn clean through the fabric. Not that he minds. The younger man can rip all the clothes off of Poe’s body that he wants.

“She’s the one who convinced me I should talk with you,” Finn says, lifting his head. “I didn’t really want to go with her. I just thought – I would have to. After – after I told you.”

“Stupid,” Poe pinches the younger man’s thigh and laughs when he lets out an undignified squeak. “I almost let you go.”

Finn smiles and runs a hand through the pilot’s hair.

“I guess it’s a pretty good thing Rey is smarter than the both of us then.”

“Very true,” Poe is grinning. He dips his head and touches his lips gently to the skin just below Finn’s ear. “We’ll have to thank her.”

“Later,” Finn gasps, his hand now a fist in the older man’s hair.

Poe laughs and pulls Finn’s face towards his.

“Much later,” he agrees.

Finn’s lips taste like everything Poe has ever fought for – they taste like freedom.

**Author's Note:**

> If only they had let one of us write the ending...I hope this fic helps a little to ease our collective dissatisfaction with the way Stormpilot was treated. Let me know what you think!


End file.
